Research has suggested that there are now more than 50,000 beverage choices available for parents to give their children. As a result, parents are looking for guidance from their trusted health care providers on topics of nutrition and what food and beverages they should give their children. Given the importance of beverage consumption in early childhood and the need for comprehensive and consistent evidence-based recommendations, Healthy Eating Research convened an expert panel representing four key national health and nutrition organizations to develop comprehensive recommendations for beverage consumption consistent with a healthy diet for children from birth to age 5. The four organizations represented on the expert panel were the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association. The beverage recommendations put forward by this expert panel are based on the best available evidence and provide consistent messages that can be used by health care providers, public health practitioners, and parents and caregivers to improve the beverage intake patterns of infants and young children.
Using the 2019 Healthy Eating Research consensus on beverages as a blueprint, the Dairy MAX Health and Wellness team is sharing one simple key message: Milk with Meals, Water in Between. The goal of this campaign is to provide concise guidance that is rooted in science so health care providers can feel confident when they make beverage recommendations to their patients. Census data and research has shown that Generation Alpha children in America are incredibly diverse and consequently, milk may not be the primary beverage choice. To appreciate and acknowledge such diversity, the Milk with Meals campaign includes graphics that not only reinforce the Dairy MAX message with health care providers, but also represent four different demographics. This representation, when coupled with the Dairy MAX message, reinforces milk as a healthy beverage choice for children of all ages across all demographics. Milk with Meals, Water in Between is a science-based message that is being shared in pediatrician’s offices, and its success and innovative nature has been recognized and adopted by the National Dairy Council. As a result, this message has the potential to reach millions of families across the U.S.
